Te Mihi is in the middle of New Zealand’s North Island, about 175 miles south of Auckland. It’s also just a few miles from Contact Energy’s Wairakei Geothermal Power Station, the second-oldest geothermal plant in the world. Contact’s plan is to build two new geothermal units at Te Mihi, then decommission 45 MW of Wairakei’s generating capacity, leaving a net gain of 114 MW. The company expects that to happen sometime in 2013.

image via Contact Energy

In a statement put out by SNC-Lavlin, a Canadian engineering and construction firm, Contact Managing Director David Baldwin said his company believes Te Mihi is New Zealand’s “most cost-effective” source for added energy. In the New Zealand Herald he added that geothermal has a major advantage over hydroelectric and wind because it doesn’t depend on the weather.

“The additional 114 megawatts is expected to be required by the market by 2013 as economic growth resumes, and will also contribute to lowering Contact’s average cost of generation,” Baldwin said.

Sports columnist, newspaper desk guy, website managing editor, wine-industry PR specialist, freelance writer—Pete Danko’s career in media has covered a lot of terrain. The constant along the way has been a fierce dedication to knowing the story and getting it right. Danko's work has appeared in Wired, The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle and elsewhere.